I was going to simply use "See you in another life, brutha" as my quote, but it just seemed too obvious.

Leading up to the finale, there was a lot of online discussion about where Lost's ending would fall among the ranks of the great and the not-so-great. On the great side, you have M*A*S*H, Newhart and Cheers; on the not-so-great (or at very least, controversial) you have Seinfeld, The Sopranos, St. Elsewhere and BSG. My gut feeling is that if you're one of the people who liked "Across The Sea" you're going to put "The End" in with the greats. If you didn't, it's going to fall in the latter group, possibly pretty far down.

As for myself, I'm of two minds. On the one hand, I really enjoyed the narrative overall, but I'm greatly disappointed that 1) everything in the Alt was kinda made irrelevant by the fact it was really just an existential waiting room and 2) all the unresolved questions that were ignored in favor of the Jacob/MiB conflict this season made much of the previous seasons feel irrelevant as well.

On some of the message boards, it's been suggested Lost would have been better if it ended with Season 5 - Juliet detonates the bomb and fade to black (or white, I suppose). The end. Dark? Sure, but dark is always cool. The same thing could be said for BSG, which could have ended in even a darker manner halfway through the final season (in fact, it could have gone down in history as the darkest, bleakest ending ever seen). But BSG instead chose to go out happy, giving most of the characters a fan-friendly send-off that treated them with reverence. Lost chose this route as well. There was also a touch of "The Sopranos" here as well, especially in the fact that Darlton chose to go out on their own terms.

Darlton were kinda sensitive in their defense of "Across The Sea," especially in regards to the words "cop out." But there's really no way to spin this ending without mentioning those words. Even if you liked the feel-good reunion at the end and didn't care about all the unresolved questions, in order to make it all work and us in suspense all season they had to give us a big head-fake as to the Alt's true nature. And now, in retrospect, a lot of what we saw in the Alt this season doesn't really make a lot of sense to me. And for a show that prides itself on its intelligence and the intelligence of its viewers, this is extremely disappointing to me.

I'm not going to be totally negative here, if you want that you can go here instead. Let's go through some of the individual plot elements from "The End" and take a look at what I liked and didn't like.

1) The Alt is an existential waiting room where the Losties gather until they're all dead and ready to "move on."

I did like this. Sorta.

Is it creative? Yes. Is it schmaltzy? Yes. Were all the awakenings emotionally manipulative? Heck yeah. But I really enjoyed all of the Alt scenes regardless. The ending in the church felt a little too much like a self-congratulatory cast party, but it still tugged the heartstrings. And it didn't cheapen what happened on the Island because all these people really did die, just some much later than others. Kate, Sawyer and everyone on the Ajira plane really did escape from the Island.

The problem with it is that because it was just a "waiting room," nothing in it was real. Everything we saw in the Alt this past season was fake. And in retrospect, even though all the awakenings were cool, it makes us question why they all had to wake up in the first place.

Also, because they didn't want to give the ending away, they had to mislead us all season into thinking the Alt was actually an alternate timeline. Yes, Jack's cut on his neck and "appendix scar" (yay, more blatant Christian symbolism) were nice bits of misdirection, but there was so much about the Alt that now, in retrospect, just doesn't make a lot of sense. Showing us the sunken Island in "LA X" was a total head-fake, put there simply to make us think it was an alternate timeline and that kinda ticks me off. It does make me feel somewhat good that my pocket universe theory was somewhat closer to the actual truth.

Also because the Alt is a total fake, a lot of the stuff we saw there this season just doesn't make a whole lot of sense. As I mentioned above, why did Desmond have to wake everyone up? How did he get woken up in the first place? Did he did actually die and come back when Charles Widmore tried to turn him into Dr. Manhattan? Certainly seems like it. But the weirdest thing was Aaron being "born" into the Alt. He certainly must have lived a full life in the real world with Claire and Kate. Must suck to have to then spend your entire afterlife as an infant because that's how these people remembered you. :P

2) The Island really is a cork to keep Hell in its place.

It's not just a cork, it actually has a literal cork too. And when you pull it out, it negates all rules on the Island or something. Jack and Smokey become mortal, everyone dies. Again I imagine anyone who liked "Across The Sea" liked this. I thought it was kinda cheesy.

3) You gain no awareness or knowledge whatsoever by becoming the new Jacob.

I think this is the plot element that annoyed me the most. Jack becomes the new Jacob and doesn't have a clue. WTF? Granted, this was only done because it was the only way to set up the ending, but this was emblematic of the episode itself. The awakenings, Jack being clueless, Jack and Smokey becoming mortal, Aaron being an infant in the Alt... all these things were done to get us to the reunion and the final shot of Jack's eye closing. Darlton knew the final shot was to be Jack's eye closing in the bamboo field and had to come up with some pretty silly plot devices to get him there.

Jack's been stabbed in the side and has to cross the Island and climb down a rope? No problem. Jack gets blown out of the Source like Smokey and survives? No problem. After all that he's still able to stagger through the jungle to the bamboo forest? No problem. After all that he wants to stagger through the forest to the bamboo jungle? Yeeesh. It was almost like you could see him thinking "I've... got... to... get... perfect... final... shot... before... I... die" while he was walking. Completely contrived and really, really weak.

4) What happened on the Island, happened. Those who escaped, escaped.

I liked the fact that some people did manage to escape the Island, that Kate managed to bring Claire back and that all the Island stuff wasn't a dream. There's also a bit of fanservice in that Kate and Sawyer get to be together in real life while Kate and Jack (and Sawyer and Juliet) get to be together in the afterlife. Guess Kate got the best of both worlds, eh?

I also cheered when I saw Frank was still alive. Makes me feel better knowing he didn't die a pointless death.

5) Ben and Daniel stay behind to be with the people they love.

I kinda like this even if it doesn't make much sense. Daniel wouldn't go with them since Charlotte was here. Ben would stay for Alex (and maybe Danielle), not to mention, he always felt he was a bit of an outsider of the group - remember his pained speech to Ilana where he told her he was going to Locke because he had nowhere else to go? The scene outside the church reminded me of that. In fact, I think that would be the one scene from the episode that would make my Top 108 moments list - Locke forgiving Ben.

But why would you want to stay in a waiting room when the real afterlife awaits? Wouldn't the real afterlife be so much better? Maybe there's a really juicy issue of People Magazine they haven't read there or something.

6) Rose, Bernard and Vincent did time travel to 2007 and lived out their lives on the Island.

I liked this as well. And props to Michael Emerson here too. Did you notice the way his eyes dropped when Jack chose Hurley as his successor? He so wanted the job himself, even though he knew he didn't deserve it. But somehow the thought of those two living on the Island for an eternity together after everyone else has left is kinda neat.

8) Eloise really was self-serving.

I kinda predicted this. Smokey had nothing to do with the Alt, but it does fit that all of Eloise's motivation was selfishness, driven by the desire to be together with Daniel.

9) The writers really didn't care about anything other than the characters.

And this sucked. Yeah, they've been warning us all season, but it doesn't make it suck any less. And don't get me wrong, the characters were important, but Darlton knew the fanbase cared about the mythology as well and to just ignore it entirely in favor of heart-tugging schmaltz is a total cop out. You can almost hear Journey playing in the background.

Darlton will argue that they had no obligation to answer every question on the show, but the sheer magnitude of everything they've ignored diminishes every season of Lost outside of this one and the first. Why do all the Egyptian stuff in the first place? Why spend so much time on childbirth on the Island? Why tease us with giant statues of fertility goddesses if they're just there for show? I'm not angry, I'm just sad and incredibly disappointed they chose the easy way out.

10) I have perfected the chicken wing.

If there is one excellent thing that came out of last night, it's that I've perfected my chicken wing recipe. The breading was excellent, the sauces were incredible and they were cooked to perfection. I actually had to put the remaining Honey BBQ sauce into the fridge otherwise I would have eaten the entire bowl with a spoon. I wish I was eating them right now...

Summary (and future blogging plans)

I'm going to give this episode a 2.5/5. The character stuff was a 5, but it gets a 0 for the mythology and overall I feel a little disappointed, about the same as I did after the BSG finale, but I do think on the whole I liked that finale a bit more because (with one major exception) I thought it was a bit more honest about it's intentions than Lost was.

Next week, I'll start my Top 108 Lost Moments list. I'll probably post them in batches of 10 or so along with a few honorable mentions that didn't quite make the cut. After that, I think I'm probably going to start a new blog, one that will touch on a variety of subjects I'm interested in, including science, the Mets, parenting and, of course, pop culture. There will be an announcement once that begins.

As for Lost, it will still remain one of my favorite all-time shows. I'm just a bit saddened that it's legacy to television (which will still remain great, to be sure) is likely going to be diminished by the ending.

25 comments:

I think I was prepared for this ending because of how much this season echoed season 1, and as it turns out, I really love season 1. I did however, immediately think that fans invested in the mythology were going to be right pissed. If I think about the things in the mythology that did interest me, and the seemingly pointlessness of it all, I am pretty annoyed myself. Like the pregnant women. And Aaron and Walt. The sickness. (Urge to kill, rising). Ok, I need to stop.

What I ultimately take from the finale is the story of these people is resolved, however the story of The Island obviously goes on. So the mythology is still there, just unanswered. And yes, that is a bit of a cop out, but the show has left plenty in it's wake for discussion and speculation, and I always enjoy those.

So, the "Alt" world was the Matrix. Ben, Eloise, and Daniel felt similarly to Cypher in that even though the "real thing" was attainable, the Matrix was preferable right now.

The other thing that i thought of, even though I don't think it's a good analogy, was Ben Linus staying behind in the "Alt" world and how Ben Grimm/Thing stayed behind on the Beyond's war world at the end of Marvel's Secret Wars. Both, were monsters (of very different kinds) previously and found a new start and weren't yet ready to return to the real world.

Last random thought is, why is Baby Aaron a Baby in the "waiting room"? When did he die?

I think baby Aaron is not really there as a baby, but rather an extension of Claire. She has that as her perfect moment and one true happiness.

Or, as Jay suggested, Aaron dies later in life, but winds up as a baby for eternity because that's how the group remembers him best, which kind of does suck for Aaron. Unless his time with Kate as his mother is so awful that he, too, prefers infancy. I see this as a completely viable option.

Dammit. I meant to mention the Target commercials. They were brilliant.

And double dammit I missed the Secret Wars reference. You're totally right about that Steph.

But as for Aaron, we just have to accept that the plot was totally sacrificed for the sake of the characters and the final shot. Nothing else really mattered and much of what they gave us to get the character ending and Jack eye closing in the bamboo field really doesn't make any sense at all.

One of the commenters over at New York Magazine had this to say:

knew this was the ending we would have THE MINUTE that damn recap show started. When the producers started babbling on and on about "how this show was really about these characters and the relationships with each other and not all this other stuff" I went "Oh SHIT. No one is going to explain anything tonight but we sure are going to see a lot of crying and people telling Jack not to 'go'". Yup.

Also, those dumb "Goodbye Lost" messages said a lot. We're not the people they wrote this show for...us who were fascinated by the time travel, mysterious numbers, looping dimensions, concepts of good and evil, ancient mysteries...nope.

They wrote this show for the people who took time out of their day to write "I'll be "Lost" without Jack!!" and "This show will always have a 'Locke' on my heart" emails. The people who think "Jack and Kate" are "super hottt!!".

When I saw those messages, I knew the finale was fcked."

I'm not as angry as this person (and I even got a bit verklempt at some of the goodbye messages), but I do agree with her general point.

I think that the ending is supposed to be a permanent enigma. I think the entire concept for it was to tie things up ... yet leave alot to the individual viewer to fill in on their own. To me the coolest thing about LOST was its mystery ... and the ending preserved much of that. I think the ending ... as the series ... gave individual viewers as much or as little as they wanted. I don't understand at all how anyone can be upset at the ending ... it was faithful to the entire show. I think any anger about the ending ... is likely anger that the show is now over. Of course with a show that was such a cultural phenomenia ... that had such deeply emotionally invested fans ... there are bound to be endless "they should have done it this way or that way" Monday morning QBing. Well they didn't ... the show is over ... I personally am very happy that they did such a daring, mold-breaking series ... yes it has its blemishes and inconsistencies here and there ... but overall for me it was the most memorable network Television experience I've ever had (and probably will ever have). For anyone out there who doesn't like this ending ... hopefully you watched Jimmy Kimmel and the spoof alternative endings. I don't think that was all comedy ... don't forget how the Soprano's ended ... I think LOST was always something that was supposed to be an "eye of the beholder" type of experience. TO be honest ... I didn't start watching until later. I wrote the show off as just another network mainstream POS show ... on par with Brittany Spears and Wal-Mart ... more consumer culture BS. A friend was persisent though and kept telling me how good the show was. I tried watching it ... the pilot just didn't pull me in (don't get mad at that statement .. I now look back fondly on that episode and think it was very well done) ... I tried 3 times and on the third try I made it all the way to the hatch ... and I was hooked. What I got out of the series is likely different from what others took away from it ... to me that is the beauty of the show. Its a personalized experience with something for anyone who was willing to let themselves experience it. I liked the target commercials too ... and the Jimmy Kimmel special was kinda cool ... too bad it wasn't a bit longer and they didn't get the entire cast to show up ... it will be interesting to see whats on the complete collection DVD set.

For what it's worth, I too left the television last night feeling both cheated and satisfied. But it's the cheated part that's lingered. Lost, in the end, became a cheap religious parable. I loved the reunions, but the sucker punch of the afterlife/everyone's dead at the end took a good deal of that joy away. I watched Lost all these years for what it made me think; for what it made me study and read and reflect upon. That is still there, and I'm thankful for those truly wonderful gifts from the creators of the series. It is what keeps the show great, despite it's corrupted ending. I enjoyed the ride, even though that last hill turned out to be a ditch, not a waterfall.

Lord - I would appreciate an ambiguous ending that not only answered a few questions but answered them well. This ending didn't answer much at all and what it did answer was either schmaltzy or just plain nonsensical.

And don't get me wrong - I feel much the same way that Greg does. I really loved the ride, I'm just very, very disappointed in Darlton.

And I don't know how many of you stayed up to watch Jimmy Kimmel last night. I watched it largely because I was working on my review and it kinda pissed me off. The "alternate endings" they showed had Darlton and some of the cast parodying other famous show endings including The Sopranos. And seeing them joke about that after producing a finale that was essentially the same made me want to give the finger to the television.

On a lighter, more positive note, I also forgot to mention that I loved Sawyer's ""You all head to your heart of the island and I'll go get the magic leprechaun out of the well." crack. :)

Everyone is entitled to their own opinion but gee Jay, I think I am really surprised by the cynicism in your review! To say that not addressing certain mysteries makes the last few seasons pointless is overstating it I think. I mean are those questions important? Yes. Would answering each of them in detail make the show better? No. I think the creators valued the intelligence of the audience and didn't "dumb it down" by explaining things they didn't have to, that really were essentially already explained. I think re-watching the series will help explain the infertility and the Egyptian hieroglyphics - and even more, kind of leave it open to the audience to discuss. Would making it all just be a dream or all in Hurley's mind in a mental hospital be a big cop out? Yes definitely so I am glad they didn't go there. To me, the fact that the Alt life was the only thing that wasn't real made me happy because as I said before, it's the Island Losties that I have come to care about over the last few years, whose lives were changed by the island. Because remember this is a story - any movie, TV show or even comic book is telling a story. And to not use these characters to their fullest extent would have been a travesty. Like the stupid Twilight Series (yes I can't believe I actually read them) where this writer has all these great vampire characters in the end and instead of bringing out the best in them and really creating a fascinating ending, she just drops them so they fall in a box with a big red bow on it and hands it to the reader to say here, happy ending! I don't think Lost did that at all, I think it was as complicated in the end as it was in the beginning for these characters. In fact the retrospective made me think more about the Locke/MIB parallel. I feel like he sort of found a kindred spirit in Locke that here was someone who knew he was meant for more. The MIB wanted to be more and do more then just waste away on the island, kind of how Locke felt his life was going off the island. I love how even at the end Lost still makes me think of things I didn't before. That is what makes this show rise above others. I don't think that the show was "diminished" by the ending, I think the ending did for me what the entire series did for me, just as I was getting comfortable on the road it took a sharp left turn and dared me to follow it. And I would all over again.

For a show like this, there was a lot of room for people to be disappointed. The bar was set so incredibly high just because of the story that had been told for the past six seasons, that for those that set that bar it was impossible to meet their expectations. No ending could have satisfied those expectations. And that is sad to me because they only took the enjoyment away from themselves.

I thought it was perfect. Brilliant and beautiful and great.

It reminded me a bit of the end of the LOTR trilogy where they all go off together on the boat. I was still very emotional about it today. I found myself getting all choked up at my desk. Seriously. Love. love love loved it.

People who were looking for those hard core scientific island answers were disappointed because I think they were expecting this big "here's what it is" moment. But to me,I think would have been a bad way to end it. Because it would be less personal of an ending. This show was so much more about these people that we grew to love/hate over the last six years. We don't get to know all the answers because THEY never got to know all the answers. And I love that. It put us on the same level as them which is so much more intimate.

And they did answer questions over the course of the show. They were answered slowly, over time. If you pay attention to some episodes you realize that the questions are answered subtly.

I love this show. I loved it for the mystery, the unanswered questions, the answered ones and the characters. Pure television perfection.

Carly and Hannah - I certainly didn't want my review to come off as totally cynical - as I said, there were aspects of the finale I liked. Overall though I was disappointed.

Look if someone who had never seen the show came up to me and asked what I thought of it, I would tell them without hesitation it's one of my favorite shows ever and would wholeheartedly recommend it. I'd just qualify it by saying you might be disappointed in the ending. I'd say the exact same thing for BSG.

One of the reasons I love Lost is because I always felt it challenged me intellectually. Yes, I loved the characters, the music, the cinematography, but I also felt that the writing made it one of the most cerebral shows on television, one that wasn't afraid to challenge it's viewers. The finale was the compete opposite of this however - not only did it strive for an emotional rather than an intelligent payoff, I'd argue it did it in an almost anti-cerebral way because, if you think about it, really nothing in the overall narrative made any sort of logical sense. In addition, the emotional payoff to me felt completely forced and contrived.

Judging from the poll results here and in other places, I'd say my feelings are in the minority, which is great for the show itself and I'm really happy you both liked it. But I also know a lot of my friends (and likely my brother, who I haven't spoken to yet) felt a bit let down by Darlton last night.

I dunno. I'm already on record as liking parts of the resolution in the Alt. But some of it was a little insulting. Not at the level of leaving loose ends in the plot, but at the level of character. We're really meant to believe, for instance, that Sayid's time with Shannon--I'll say it again, Shannon--meant more to him than his time with Nadia? Cause I don't, at least not without thinking less of Sayid.

If you're happy with the ending, you're happy with the ending, and I'd rather see it your way than the way I'm seeing it. But "perfect" feels like an overstatement to me, especially since the show at its best really has earned it at times. Just not last night.

I agree that a show like LOST can almost not possibly have an ending that will satisfy 100%. Look ... I'm a hardcore atheist ... I hate religious BS as much as anyone. Yet I didn't take away that was really the message ... oh the magic christian god will come down and save you. Sure if that's what you want to see ... its there ... I saw most of the ending as a metaphor. Very simple things like just learning to let go and embrace whatever was next to the very complex that would be pointless to go into here on that note if anyone is in the SLC area I'll buy you a beer and we can chat at length about it ... but in this format that type of discussion would lead to a rant. Anyway I don't think the end was a perfect 100% ... but it wasn't a fail. I'd give it an A-/B+ ... again I agree that the bar for this was world record Olympian level and they just weren't going to get there. I think they realized that and just did what they wanted to do. I'm not disappointed with the ending to the extent that I'd taint a recommendation to someone who hadn't seen this show with a comment about the ending. I'd tell them ... hey ... when your done with the series I'd love to get your take on it all. At the end of the day for me anyway LOST was a sort of guilty pleasure ... I enjoyed watching it mostly alone ... occasionally my wife would watch an episode with me. I watched the ending alone and took what I wanted from it. I feel I probably should have stayed off the internet because I feel its slightly diminished my fun and contentment. Not because my own opinion/experience has been diminished but I just feel sort of disappointed that the show is over and others didn't get the closure/satisfaction they'd hoped for ... that's what I get for breaking my rule about mainstream pop cultural phenomena ... back to my hermitage of anti-pop culture I guess ... lol.

I wrote at another blog that emotionally I felt content with the finale, but intellectually not so much. But I've decided what's been bugging me about it...Last nights finale should/would have been a great appetizer for a more mythology-based finale. We deserved to have our mental strings yanked at not just our heart strings last night. I think the writers could have pulled it off...

Again the episode was great...as a preface. You get me?

Anyway, Jay, you've been a pleasure to read, I mean it. I loved your insights and questions. You were able to intelligently review a complex show without being sucked into the Crazy Lost Theory Vortex, kudos!

I liked the finale because they avoided to explain only a few selected mysteries, as there would have been no time to explain everything. And if they did, it could have been a pretty lame explanation and everyone would be pissed off too, and/or would complain that they did no explain his/her personal "favorite mystery".Instead they explained nothing and it all remains vague. I'm fine with that :-)

After thinking about the finale, I've decided I like all of it except ALL of the sideways stuff. I think it shouldn't have been in the season at all, and it was just a way for Darlton to figure out how to end their show in an emotional way. I think I would have been just as moved if the show ended with Jack dying because he was still the redeemed character and the hero of the show. The sideways did nothing for me except fulfilled the fan's desires to see dead characters again. Why not add more to the island story and just spare us the whole "purgatory" thing? I don't mind that we didn't get answers to questions like why pregnant women die, but I think that towards the end some island stuff was rushed and it didn't have to be if we didn't have that sideways nonsense.

Y'know Stefanie, I actually really LIKED the Alt universe this season; I thought it was a fun way to look at some of the characters and how they interact. I just didn't like what the Alt turned out to be - I think that's part of the reason I was disappointed in the finale. The past two seasons we've been given a heavy dose of sci-fi in the show all leading up to The Incident. In fact, you can argue the biggest question entering Season 6 was whether or not the time travelers changed history or not and when we first saw the Alt, it certainly looked like they did. But instead of alternate timelines or pocket universes we find out the time travelers created a mini-purgatory for themselves using a hydrogen bomb?

To me, not only does it not make much sense, but it seems silly, especially when you contrast it to the heavy sci-fi feeling of the past two season. And the fact I really enjoyed and was excited about the resolution of all the Alt stuff this season makes it feel like even more of a let down to me.